Red Moon
by Fayah
Summary: It's almost an insult for a hunter to be saved by one of the creatures they hunt, and the soft blue-haired boy is far from his image of a typical vampire, but Kagami takes what he can get if it means surviving. Unfortunately, he finds himself unable to pay back the favor without getting sucked into the complex politics of the Teikou Vampire Coven. AU
1. Chapter 1

The human world was impressive, Kuroko admitted. Thousands of artificial lights flickered within the darkness of Tokyo, bringing him the closest thing he would ever experience to sunlight. Much to his displeasure, Akashi had absolutely forbid him from going out in the day because of his weak constitution.

Kuroko consoled himself with the reminder that, at the very least, Maji Burger was still open late night. It was one of the first human establishments Aomine had introduced to him, and he had remained a steadfast fan of their vanilla shakes ever since.

Even now, his usual order was sitting in his hands as he watched over the bustling metropolis on one of its many skyscrapers, far enough so that the smells and sounds of the city wouldn't overwhelm him, but close enough so that his enhanced vision could see all the skittering humans making their way through the ever-thinning crowds on the street.

It was rare to see the stars in the pollution of the modern day, but Kuroko prefers this sight instead. The humans burned brightly with life, much like the distant stars that shine to their death, and a thousand stories unfold from below him, better than any storybook could provide.

There was something out of place, though. An unmistakable sense of death among the energetic life of the crowds. It only lingered on the outer edges of his senses, eventually teasing his curiosity enough to focus in on it. Then his eyes narrowed.

It was the smell of blood.

* * *

Coming to one of the districts under the Teikou Coven's jurisdiction had been a risk, but they had over-hunted in their old haunt, angering the locals there enough to make moving a necessity. Besides, according to rumors, the vampire overseeing this district was a relatively new member of Teikou's inner circle, perhaps someone they could even handle on a 3-on-1 before the coven as a whole acted.

The trio of hungry vampires took their chances.

And so far, it had paid off splendidly. Simple flirting had lured two drunk humans with them to an alley, the humans far too trusting due to Tokyo's recent peaceful history with the supernatural. The humans looked at the alley in confusion, eyes dilated and wild from the alcohol, and it was only when one of the vampires approached, smirk on his face with fangs flashing, that the humans realized that something was wrong.

It was too late.

A large hand muffled their protests while three pairs of sharp incisors bit in without restraint, savoring their first taste of blood in days. Unfortunately, their enjoyment was short lived.

"Oi! That's enough," a voice called out before yanking the vampires away from the pale-faced humans with supernatural strength. "There's no reason to take that much blood. You're going to kill them!"

The vampires took a moment to regroup from the surprise attack, half expecting to face off with the Teikou vampire already. But a closer look revealed that their attacker was very much human, a foreigner with wild red hair, brandishing a silver sword in hand that no vampire could wield.

A _hunter_.

Hunters were very rare – humans gifted with superhuman strength much like their own. They had the delusion of being able to control the supernatural populace, but none of the immortality to become a real lingering threat. Even the most powerful hunter inevitably died to the forces of time.

Still, this hunter in front of them was very real and in his prime. Yet the vampires held no fear.

"We're hungry, that's reason enough," one sneered, distracting the hunter enough so that one of his companions could leap in a surprise attack. It was quickly repelled by a reflexive swing of the sword that cut open a gash in the attacking vampire's arm. In one swift motion, Kagami flicked his sword to clean it of the blood before taking a proper stance, sword held at ready.

"Heeeh, then I suppose I don't have to hold back. You three, you're rogues, aren't you?"

This only provoked further aggression from the vampires, all three attacking at once with fairly straightforward attacks that Kagami had no trouble dodging. They were predictable, still weak and incapable of thinking at full coherency from their recent lack of meals.

"Is that all you have?" The hunter taunted, dodging another strike and swinging his sword warningly at any limbs or fangs that got too close for comfort. Eventually, one of his attack caused a vampire to lose balance, falling over briefly and creating the perfect window of opportunity for a finishing attack. Just as he was about to strike down, he was surprised to feel a piercing pain from behind.

Turning around, he caught sight of a fanged grin – a fourth member.

"Che," Kagami said in annoyance, yanking himself away as fast as he could.

"Not so tough now, hunter, are you?"

"Well…" a new voice mused out loud, soft but still audible to an audience with enhanced hearing, "it is four-on-one. That's not very fair, is it?"

A new figure jumped down to the scene in front of Kagami, hood unraveling from the fall to reveal light blue hair that far out-matched Kagami's in terms of curiosity.

"Eh? A little brat?" The newly arrived vampire laughed in good humor, licking his fingers that were covered in Kagami's blood. "It looks like the food is lining up for us tonight! Are you going to fight us too?"

"No," the boy replied, instead walking up to Kagami to help support his wavering body, "in terms of combat ability…I have none."

Kuroko takes advantage of everyone's confusion over his declaration to slip behind Kagami, whispering, "so, I'll be relying on you Kagami-kun."

"Wha-?"

By that point, the stranger was gone, nowhere in sight even when he turned around to look. But he still _felt_ the stranger, like a calm presence shrouding his body, taking away the pain of his injuries and leaving only the feeling of _power_.

He didn't have long to question the curious sensation. The gang of vampires were on the attack again, finally snapping out of their stupor to settle on their default plan of straightforward attacking. To Kagami's surprise, their aim seemed to be worse than ever, missing him by feet rather than inches. It was like their attacks had totally been misdirected towards a completely different, non-existant enemy.

"Please focus Kagami-kun, don't get arrogant."

It was that voice again, whispering in his head. None of the vampires appeared to hear it, but it was hard to tell by their constantly snarled faces. The only thought they had now was to attack him, bloodlust evident in their eyes. It must have been the open wounds, leaving enough blood in the air to drive the starving vampires even more wild than ever.

"Wait, how do you know my name-"

"_Focus_."

The next attack came too close for comfort, snapping his attention back to the battle. He blocked the subsequent blow with his sword, and knocked another vampire back with a quick follow-up. His body moved as smoothly as ever, unhindered by pain or injury as he sliced through his first vampire. The creature screeched, fingering the wound with horror until the body promptly crumbled into ashes.

That's when fear started to shine in the eyes of the remaining three, and their instinct to flee kicked in. But there would be no escape for them. Kagami's body closed the distance between him and the vampires with a speed he knew he could never achieve on his own and his sword started to _glow_.

He was far past the point of questioning these occurrences.

"Heh, interesting!" Kagami grinned, slashing the sword horizontally at the vampires. An energy shockwave resonated from the blade, slicing further through all three of them. It didn't take long for the three remaining vampires to join their companion as ashes.

He only had a brief moment to enjoy the satisfaction of a good hunt. The pain from his wound rapidly set in again, bringing him to his knees from the sudden shock of sensations. Kagami reflexively put a hand to his wound, noticing that it was still bleeding despite the earlier relief.

"I'm sorry," the voice said again, and this time he could actually see the blue haired boy the words belonged to leaning down next to him, "it seems I cannot link to a hunter as well as I had hoped. You've lost a lot of blood."

"…link?" Kagami muttered, focusing on his breathing more than anything. His vision was already blurring from the sheer amount of blood loss.

"Kagami-kun, at this rate, you are going to die here."

"Well, aren't you positive," scoffed Kagami who tried to stand up despite his wound. Cold hands gripped his shoulders, holding him down with ease. If he could see straight, he would have noticed the disapproving glare from the boy.

"I will help you, but in exchange, please leave Tokyo for a while. Akashi-kun will be very displeased when he hears of this."

At this point, Kagami could barely even tell what the boy was saying. What he did notice was the boy reaching for his sword, using it to create a gash on his own wrist. This alarmed him enough back into coherency – "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"Helping you," replied the deadpan voice. Then, the bloody wrist was promptly shoved into his mouth, blood rushing in as the wound was pressed against his lips. He tried to resist at first, closing off the torrent of blood with his tongue. He knew better than to drink the blood of a stranger, whom he now also deeply suspected was a vampire.

And he definitely did _not_ want to become a vampire. That would not pass well with his hunting companions.

There was a scoff by his side, almost as if the boy could read his thoughts. He probably could, Kagami realized.

"Kagami-kun, this meager amount won't be enough to turn you. You're wasting blood."

A bit reluctantly, he took in some of the blood, forcing a swallow with distaste. With Kuroko's encouragement, he braved a second mouthful. By then, the effects had, surprisingly, already kicked in. It started as an itch on his skin, one he did not dare try to scratch. The skin slowly knitted itself back together, skin cells growing, pulling, and recombining together until the gaping hole on his side left perfectly smooth skin. It was an odd experience, matched only by the even stranger battle earlier.

"Better?" Kuroko asked, removing his wrist and casually licking the blood from it as if it were the most normal thing in the world. His eyes, formerly a bright blue, had morphed into a dark shade of red with slitted pupils.

A vampire.

"You…You just helped kill four of your own kind?" Kagami asked with a puzzled expression. Not to mention, the vampire had also saved him. He ran a hand over the location of his former injury, still awed that the skin was unmarred like nothing had ever happened.

"There would have been worse consequences for them if they lived," replied Kuroko. He glanced over at the ashes with an eerily blank face. "The coven rules here are…particularly harsh."

"Then…will you be in trouble for helping me?"

"No," the small vampire immediately reassured with confidence , which only puzzled Kagami further. "But you will, if you do not leave soon, Kagami-kun. Please take those two humans with you too."

"Ah, right," Kagami gathered himself, brushing off the slightest bits of dust and ashes from his clothing and sheathing his sword before slinging one of the two women over his back and the other around his shoulder. His mind was on autopilot now. It was so confused about how to process this new situation that the routine procedures for cleaning up after a hunt set in before anything else crossed his mind. He was almost out of the alley before he remembered he still had one burning question he needed to ask.

"Hey, you know, I think you still owe me a name. It's not fair that you know mine without giving me yours."

A small amused smile crept on the vampire's face. Both knew that he owed the hunter nothing - it was the opposite way around if anything - but nonetheless, Kuroko indulgently gave way to the human that had fought as his partner tonight. "Very well. You may call me Kuroko."

"Right," Kagami returned the smile with a grin. "Thanks for your help Kuroko. I'll be going then."

The vampire didn't reply. It was only when Kagami was a fair distance away that Kuroko let himself lean back on an alley wall, grunting at the fatigue that had crept upon him. That battle had taken more energy than he had expected. And he had given his blood to a_ hunter_, even if it was only a small amount. Akashi wouldn't be pleased if he found out about this. _When_ he found out about this.

Nothing escaped Akashi's attention.

* * *

Kise traced the smell of drying blood to an alley in the red light district, a popular place for rogues to roam. He had expected a typical, if not troublesome, case of rogue vampires to take care of, but was surprised to instead find one of his own coven members asleep against a wall, surrounded by ashes of what he assumed to be former vampires.

And it was not just any coven vampire.

"Kurokocchi!" Kise exclaimed, rushing to hug the small vampire with equal amounts of enthusiasm and worry. "Kurokocchi, what are you doing here? Are you hurt? Who did this to you?"

The smaller vampire's half-lidded eyes blinked several times, replacing a look of drowsiness with one of annoyance, but he took Kise's hug attack in stride, counting to ten mentally before swiftly shoving Kise off of him. "I'm fine, Kise-kun. I found some rogue vampires loitering around and simply took care of them."

Kise gave Kuroko a skeptical look. Not only did he know that Kuroko was utterly incapable of fighting by himself, but also - "Mouu," he pouted, "why didn't you call me then, Kurokocchi? I would have helped! It's my job!"

"It would have been too late," Kuroko replied, and pulled his hood back up before Kise could latch on again. The sun was about to come up, and he would have to return to the coven headquarters soon. However, even taking one step proved to be too much, his body swaying traitorously until he grasped on to the wall again. He had lost a bit more energy than expected.

Kise was by his side in an instant, worry more evident than ever in his expression. "Kurokocchi, you're paler than usual! You look like a _sheet_. Did you...Did you lose blood?"

The lack of response was answer enough.

Kise grabbed Kuroko's shoulder, fixing him with a serious stare. "Then, please take some of mine," he insisted, squatting down so that he was at Kuroko's height. Kise's arms moved to wrap around Kuroko, pulling him into an embrace that positioned Kuroko's head exactly at Kise's exposed neck.

In the vampire world, exposing one's neck was the ultimate sign of trust, and here Kise was, offering it so easily. It was flattering, if not foolish, but who was he to talk? Kuroko wrapped his arms around Kise's neck, patting his hair from behind.

"Don't be silly Kise-kun, I can't do that. You still have a job to do, don't you, _district manager_?"

Kise frowned, loosening his grip on Kuroko. "But-"

Kuroko gently extracted himself from the hold, but lingered close enough to affectionately press his forehead against Kise's. "So please, try to do your job with more enthusiasm."

A sigh. Kise couldn't argue with that. He could never argue with Kuroko well. It was almost as hard as arguing with Akashi - those resolute blue eyes didn't give way to even an inch of hesitation. "At least let me take you back?"

Kuroko agreed to that, helping Kise back up. "But you know," Kise began again as the two headed into the streets, drawing curious glances from everyone around them. Kise's bright yellow hair and good looks drew as much attention as Kuroko's casual dressing usually tried to draw away. They were, admittedly, a bizarre sight: a tall model-like figure, dressed neatly in a button down shirt, holding hands with a kid in ragged hoodie looking as if he had come from the poorest of slums, but neither of the vampires paid the attention any mind. "You've been going out a lot lately, Kurokocchi."

"Hmm," Kuroko replied noncommittally. And then, after some thought, he added, "I like it though. This human world."

Kise chuckled at the response, and Kuroko could sense a mix of amusement and bitterness in his friend. "Ah, sometimes Kurokocchi, you sound so young, even though you're older than me. I don't get what you see in it. After a while, this human world...it can get so..._boring_."

A sharp jab on his side startled Kise, causing a slight flinch and transformed his serious expression into a more familiar pouting mask once again. "Maybe Kise-kun is just too young to understand," Kuroko challenged. "This world is filled with interesting things."

"Eh, really?" Kise recomposed himself and rested his arm on Kuroko's shoulder in a friendly manner, "Well, make sure to show me someday then, Kurokocchi!"

* * *

**A/N:** So I finally gave into the ultimate writer's temptation of writing a vampire AU ahaha. I fell in love fast and hard with this fandom and I was disappointed there weren't more long fic, so this will hopefully be my contribution if my attention span lasts.

As for pairings in this fic, it's going to be a hint of everyone x Kuroko but probably primarily Aomine, Kise, and Akashi with Kuroko because those are my three favorites. My focus for this fic is less on the romance and more on relationships/friendships and plot though, so if you don't like any of the pairings, it really won't play as much of a gigantic role in the fic if that's any consolation.

Also, if anyone is interested in beta-ing, let me know. I don't have as much time to weed out my own spelling/grammar/plot holes due to school, so I apologize for the small faults. Please let me know if you spot any problems anywhere and I'll be glad to fix it! :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the KuroBasu franchise or its characters, I just like writing gay fiction about them plzkthx

* * *

It was 7:20 AM when he arrived at the footsteps of Seirin Agency's doors in fresh new clothes with a suitcase trailing behind him. After the latest incident, he had just enough time to change clothes at his temporary hotel residence before making his way through Tokyo to find the agency that had offered to provide him housing for his stay in Japan. The hunting agency was located in Tokyo, so Kagami felt a little bad about not completely heeding Kuroko's words, but there would be no better place to lie low from vampires than at one of the many hidden agencies.

However, he was honestly surprised that the agency had managed to remain intact for so long when they had headquarters at the most obvious location possible: a church.

Admittedly, it wasn't nearly as gaudy as some of the churches in America, but religious groups had been one of the first groups to actively hunt the supernatural and had thus received back equal hostility and suspicion. It would be the first place any supernatural being would destroy in search of hunters.

Perhaps the supernatural also have cultural differences among countries, as odd as that sounded. To be honest, Kagami hardly cared. He was willing to take on any supernatural being that would attack at this point to make up after his earlier screw-up last night, promise be damned.

"Oiii! Is this Seirin?" He yelled at the door, kicking it once with his feet for good measure. "Anyone ho-"

"Idiot! Are you _trying_ to give us away?"

The door swung open, revealing a glaring brunette dressed in what he recognized as a typical Japanese school uniform. Hardly the image of a hunter, but then again, appearances were deceiving in anything involving the supernatural.

"Err, no-"

"Then come in already!"

The girl had more strength than she let on. Kagami found himself being dragged by the front of his shirt into the church, the door slamming behind him.

"You're lucky Alex gave us a call about you before hand," said the girl as she lead him through another room and down what he figured was a hidden corridor. "You have quite a scary aura, one of our newbies may have mistaken you for an enemy."

Kagami snorted, "They wouldn't be able to hurt me."

The girl immediately smacked him on the head and said, disapprovingly, "Didn't anyone teach you? Arrogance is the first step to defeat."

"Tch." he rubbed the injury lightly. "Are all Japanese women this violent?"

"Riko's been born and raised by one of Japan's top hunters, so she can be a bit harsh, but she means well. You should take her advice," said a new voice, a towering burnette that appeared from the shadows of the new room to pat Kagami on the head with a friendly grin. "Kagami Taiga, is it? We've been waiting for you, welcome, welcome! Kiyoshi Teppei, it's great to finally meet you! And that's our fearless leader sulking there in the corner, Hyuuga Junpei."

"I am _not_ sulking." Hyuuga huffs, re-adjusting his glasses. The man was dressed in clothes typical of clergy men, indicating that he was also probably the pastor for this church. Kagami, still trying to duck away from Kiyoshi's affectionate gesture, was unimpressed.

"You guys are pretty free with giving out your names here," the redhead noted with a hint of reproach. Names held a lot of power, especially full names, and he didn't appreciate his being given around so easily.

"It's a sign of trust," Riko is the one to explain this time. "In Seirin, we trust each other absolutely. We work in teams, and in teams, trust is necessary. If we do not trust each other with names, how can we trust each other with our backs?"

"So let's get along, Kagami-kun~"

Kagami avoided Kiyoshi's hand once again. Japanese are sure weird, he thought to himself, but there's an air about them that puts him at ease and he releases a small sigh along with some of his hesitation about the group. They had been kind enough to offer him shelter for his stay in Japan, and he was not rude enough to spit on their hospitality.

"Yeah, sure," he muttered politely, his slight embarrassment hidden with a small bow. Thank you for taking me."

* * *

"Welcome back, Tetsuya."

Akashi sat at an ornate seat in the center of the throne room, legs crossed comfortably and chin rested upon his interlaced hands. Though Akashi's tone was pleasant, with a deceptive smile of amusement on his lips, Kuroko could tell from those narrowed heterochromatic eyes that the coven leader was displeased.

Next to Akashi was a girl, neck red with freshly drawn blood. It wasn't hard to guess that she was Akashi's latest meal. His eyes trailed down the trail of blood dripping from her neck and noticed the elaborate bracelet on her wrist.

Feedstock, he noted with pity as the girl eyed him back curiously.

"I'm back," Kuroko replied, giving a small bow while averting his eyes from the human.

The other vampire took note of the action with a frown. "Come here, Tetsuya," he commanded, holding out a beckoning hand. Kuroko gravitated towards it automatically without thinking.

The cool hand stroked Kuroko's cheek once, then went to his chin to tilt it up, forcing the smaller vampire to make eye contact. Akashi smiled once more, a look of pure possessiveness, like a cat who had its prey at hand. Kuroko would have shivered if he were any less self-controlled.

"Akashi-kun..."

"You've been getting quite adventurous lately," Akashi commented. "Perhaps I shouldn't have been so lenient..."

His hand slid down Kuroko's neck and settled on a slim arm, delicately holding it up to observe it closely. Though the earlier injury Kuroko inflicted upon himself was long gone, Akashi was looking at it so intently that it was as if the other vampire could see the wound.

Akashi thumbed over the exact area, pressing down on it. Kuroko winced, and immediately regretted it when the redhead looked at him knowingly.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out, Tetsuya?"

"No," Kuroko replied, staring straight back at Akashi's challenging gaze, "but even so, I can not stand aside and watch innocent people get killed."

"A hunter is hardly an innocent person," Akashi said coldly.

"He had good intentions."

"His _intention _was to kill."

"His intention was _to protect_," Kuroko firmly disagreed. "He would not have attacked if the rogues had not almost drained those humans."

Akashi sighed. "You are far too trusting of hunters, Tetsuya. For you to go to the extent of giving your blood to a hunter..." The other vampire gave one last disapproving glance at the pale wrist before releasing it.

Kuroko self-consciously rubbed the area. "Only enough to heal him."

"Nonetheless, you've broken one of our rules, and you know that I can't let that slide, even for you."

"...I understand."

"Don't be so tense, Tetsuya," Akashi said as he stood from his throne, putting a hand on Kuroko's shoulder. "Your punishment will come later. We have a _march_ coming next full moon and we cannot show any signs of weakness, but you will be staying within the coven until then."

Kuroko's eyes widened slightly at the mention of a _march_. They had not had one in a while. No one dared to challenge their coven for territory after the rumors of their strength had grown over the years, but he supposed it was inevitable. Even among the supernatural, whose lives far outlasted humans, lessons did not last. More blood would be spilled for the sake of power. An endless struggle that they could not stop, only minimize.

The smaller vampire nodded numbly, face kept cautiously blank and emotions under wraps from Akashi. It was pointless to go against the coven leader any further about this.

With his other hand, Akashi gestured to the human, who had previously been trying to make herself invisible, to come closer. She obliged, confused at first, but realization quickly dawned on her. There was only one use for a human like her within a vampire coven, so she did what she had always done - she bared her neck.

A frown escaped Kuroko's mask of indifference. Akashi _knew_ he hated feeding on the humans kept captive in their coven - _("They aren't captives, they came willingly and stay willingly," Akashi had said flippantly, "and we treat them well, much better than the human world would have left them.")_ - and despised the reverent look of blind worship the human gave him as she waited for him to feed.

They did stay willingly, if only for the fact that they did not know of anything better. They were street rats, orphans, people from the dredges of society that Akashi had picked up. To them, a life in the coven where they had three meals a day and a sheltered bed was heaven enough. They had lost hope of anything better, and Kuroko found that extremely saddening. To feed on them would only be perpetuating their delusion that their sole purpose in life was to be a meal for vampires.

He turned away from the bleeding neck. "I'm not hungry."

"Do not lie to me, Tetsuya," Akashi said with a threat in his voice. The other vampire rested his free hand on the girl's neck, sharpened nails ripping open a deeper wound. A small gasp escaped her lips, but she did not dare to complain. "Let's not waste blood, hmm?"

The smell of blood was thick in the air now, tempting the edges of his self control, but it was not nearly enough to phase him deeply. He had survived weeks without blood before, much to everyone's concern. However, this was different. He knew Akashi could, and _would_, leave the girl to bleed out.

The current Akashi had become quite cruel when it came to achieving his goals, the ends justifying the means.

Hesitantly, Kuroko leaned towards the neck, taking a tentative lick at the warm blood. The girl tilted her head encouragingly. He could sense that she was as eager to end the feeding as much as he was. Sighing, he continued to cover the wound with his mouth, taking in the blood and pressing his tongue soothingly against the ripped skin.

His eyes began to gain a glazed red tint to them as the warm viscous liquid made its way down his throat. There was always a rush of energy, power, that came from feeding - the spiritual properties of blood resonated with vampires more than any other supernatural creature, energizing them like nothing else could. It was no wonder some vampires got carried away on that high rush, accidentally bleeding out their victims.

But Kuroko had much more control than an average vampire, despite this being his first meal in weeks. While his saliva was not nearly as potent as his blood, it too had healing properties that managed to clot the girl's wound. When he felt the blood flow slow, he avoided angering the wound with his tongue and settled for licking off the excess blood around it. His hand held the trembling human steady while he used his powers to project calming emotions into her - _relax, you are safe, it is over_.

It was Akashi who officially ended the ordeal, adding the last suggestion of _sleep_. She was too weak to resist, collapsing instantly in Kuroko's arms.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Akashi asked, ruffling Kuroko's hair affectionately. Then he paused, a smirk blossoming on his face as he leaned down to lick some stray blood on Kuroko's cheek. The tongue moved to his lips, parting them easily as the kiss deepened. Kuroko was trapped between the grip of Akashi's hands on his shoulder and the weight of the girl in his arms, unable to move from the aggressive kiss.

This, too, was another power play. These days, almost everything with Akashi was one, Kuroko thought sadly.

But underneath it all, he sensed a feeling of desperation. Perhaps, it was the way Akashi tightly gripped his shoulders, like a drowning man trying to keep afloat. Or perhaps, it was how, despite the initial force in which he pressed against Kuroko, Akashi's tongue was still gentle, stroking against Kuroko's slowly and languidly. Regardless, he knew what he sensed was real. After all, he has known Akashi the longest out of any vampire in the coven.

Kuroko closed his eyes, resigning himself to the kiss. Even now, he could not bring himself to resent Akashi. Because Akashi was precious to him too.

"Remember, Tetsuya," Akashi whispered as he relented, "Everything I do is for your sake as well."

When Kuroko opened his eyes again, he was alone again.

* * *

There were two types of hunter agencies: ones that were strictly dedicated to taking hunting requests, and ones that, in addition to keeping the supernatural in line, integrated themselves within the community they protected. Few opted for the latter, because personal ties with regular humans only gave the supernatural another weakness to exploit, but Seirin never seemed to stop surprising him.

The first type of structure was known for touch-and-go contact, recruiting a great deal of hunters and allowing them a great deal of independence over their own activities, but providing no support besides scouting targets to hunt and taking a share of the profits in exchange for the information. This was, by far, the most popular structure in the states where its extremely large landmass made it difficult for smaller organizations to cover everything.

The other type was supposedly a much more close-knit structure, their small sizes affording them the ability to have regular meetings without much notice. And really, that's all Kagami knew about them, having no contact with such organizations before. To protect themselves, they tended to also be tight-lipped about their workings.

Seirin met during the evening - that was the first thing he learned when Riko rapped on the door to his guest room at precisely noon, and when he didn't answer, she had come in anyways and _yanked_ him off the makeshift futon mattress. The subsequent threat of cold water got him dressed and to the meeting room in record time.

"Do we have these every day?" Kagami asked irritably, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"No," Riko said cheerfully. Kagami highly suspected that she was one of those dreaded _morning persons_. "Only Saturdays, some of our members still attend school and we run service on Sundays."

Kagami had dropped out of school as soon as possible to devote his time to hunting, but things were different here, he continued to remind himself. He took a moment to truly look at the other members he did not meet earlier that morning. A couple were definitely young, but he had started when he was younger, so he had no objections to that. They looked absolutely inexperienced though, not giving off much of a presence at all. They could be hiding it, but Kagami doubted it from the open faces of curiosity and awe they showed while not too subtly eying Kagami.

Besides Hyuuga, whose power, largely magical, simmered around him in a deceptively innocent manner and Kiyoshi, whom he suspected was as physically powerful as himself if his abnormally large body size was anything to go by, there was one other in the room that caught his attention. A black haired boy talking to Hyuuga with a serious expression. He was one of the older members, Kagami suspected.

"Okay, okay everyone, let's get this meeting started!" Kiyoshi said with a smile - another morning person, Kagami lamented - and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

Hyuuga punched him lightly on the shoulder. "That's my line, idiot."

The pastor cleared his throat, taking his position at the podium like he would at a sermon while Riko and Hyuuga stayed behind him supportively. Hyuuga squared his shoulders and straightened his back, trying to match Kiyoshi's imposing posture as much as he could but failing miserably. Nonetheless, Kagami observed everyone in the room smiling at the scene. Hyuuga commanded their respect in his own way.

"As you all have noticed by now," Hyuuga began, "we have a new member among us. Kagami-kun is a transfer from America, but he was born in Japan and has come to spend a year here to better understand Japanese culture. Please treat him with respect."

Kagami received the chorus of greetings with only mild embarrassment. "Thank you for having me," he repeated again.

After the chattering had quitted, Hyuuga continued. "While Kagami-kun will definitely be a help in our hunts, we must not let down on guard. Riko, I trust you will work him into a training schedule with the other members?"

"I'm already on it," Riko assured with a glint in her eye that unsettled Kagami. The looks of pity he received did nothing to improve his impression of this future "training."

"Good. Then we will move to other matters. The most important of which..." Hyuuga's face grew more solemn. "Izuki has picked up rumors of a _march_ coming next full moon."

"A...march?" Kagami was the first to ask, confusion evident on his face. The image of an army of monsters marching in uniform came to mind, which only came a tad bit short of ridiculous.

"Yes, it is a tradition of the local vampire coven here. It's directed as a challenge of sorts, with the time and location spread beforehand. This is the only time that all of the coven's top members gather outside of their headquarters, with no support whatsoever from their auxiliary members, and march through the borders of their territory. It's practically an invitation to attack them."

"So...we're going to attack them?" One of the newer members asked, eyes wide with fear.

"No, we have no reason to challenge the local coven," Riko sharply intruded. "One of the many reasons we still exist is that they do not consider us a threat on their territory. For the most part, they refrain from killing humans and we leave them alone."

Kagami remembers Kuroko, his small voice whispering ominously about the laws of the coven being quite strict. Nonetheless, he still feels uneasy about a whole local coven of vampires going unchecked. "Are they strong?"

Riko frowned, staring hard at Kagami with concern, as if she could sense Kagami's hidden desire to challenge them. "They've destroyed anyone who has ever tried to challenge one of their marches."

Even Kiyoshi, who usually was the most carefree of the lot, had a serious expression. "I've only seen one march in my lifetime," he admitted, "but...they were monsters. You would have to have been there to truly understand. Thousands of creatures, not only vampires, came to stop the march, trying to claim the fame of defeating the legendary coven, but by dawn, it didn't even look like they had a scratch on them."

"So," Hyuuga concluded, "we will _not_ be interrupting the march. But we must minimize all human casualties, and if possible, do reconnaissance. That is what we will focus on for the next few days in everyone's training drills."

Hyuuga stepped down to allow Riko to take over, but Kagami had begun to zone out as she chattered on about a frightening list of exercises. His thoughts were elsewhere.

(_I will help you, but in exchange, please leave Tokyo for a while._)

Did Kuroko know about this march? Exactly how strong was this mysterious coven? He itched to measure himself against them, to have a fight that would push him to his limits. Kagami was one of the hunters that genuinely enjoyed his job, the thrill of the fight, a dance between life and death, appealing to him like nothing else in life had. But as much as avoiding a fight screamed against his instincts, he did make a promise. Now to both Kuroko and Seirin.

He sighed. What a disappointment.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you all for your support! I was blown away by the interest this received, glad to know others also still like vampire stories haha. Now I can feel a little bit better indulging one of my take on one of my favorite cliches

Sorry my pacing can be a little slow, the rest of MiraGen will be introduced very soon! Also fyi I don't know much about churches/christianity besides lots of google and wikipedia reading please forgive me if I somehow accidentally offend you with some inaccuracy or another! D:


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